DGAP-News

Hapag-Lloyd with a strong start to the year in first quarter

DGAP-News: Hapag-Lloyd AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement/Quarter Results Hapag-Lloyd with a strong start to the year in first quarter 12.05.2021 / 07:25 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Hapag-Lloyd with a strong start to the year in first quarter

- Significant increase in result compared to previous year

- Transport volume slightly below prior-year level

- Outlook for 2021 confirmed

Hapag-Lloyd has concluded the first quarter of 2021 with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of roughly USD 1.9 billion (approximately EUR 1.6 billion). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to roughly USD 1.5 billion (approximately EUR 1.3 billion). The Group net result improved to around USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.2 billion).

"On the back of the high demand for container transports, we have benefited from better freight rates, especially in the spot market. On top of that, bunker prices have been lower than in 2020. As a result, we concluded the first quarter with a very positive financial result and look back overall on a solid start to the year," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.

Revenues increased in the first quarter of 2021 by around 33 percent, to roughly USD 4.9 billion (approximately EUR 4.1 billion), particularly due to a higher average freight rate, which increased by approximately 38 percent to reach 1,509 USD/TEU (Q1 2020: 1,094 USD/TEU). Nevertheless, due to the demand-related congestion of port and hinterland infrastructures in many places as well as to a resulting shortage of freely available ships and containers, the transport volume was slightly below the level of the same quarter of the prior year, at roughly 3.0 million TEU (Q1 2020: approximately 3.1 million TEU), or minus 2.6 percent. On the other hand, a roughly 27 percent lower average bunker consumption price, which amounted to USD 384 per tonne in the first three months of the 2021 financial year (Q1 2020: USD 523 per tonne), had a positive impact on earnings.